Ragnaros
Elemental lieutenant, Elemental Lord | status = Alive | location = Elemental Plane (the Firelands) (previously) | relatives = Several elemental offspring | alignment = Chaotic neutral }} :The being approaches you, sheathed in flame. Inside, you see what is plainly a humanoid figure, with two arms, two legs, a head, and eyes that glow with a bluewhite fire. The heat radiating from its body is intense, even at a distance. The air between you shimmers like the waves rising from the desert in the heat of deep summer. Ragnaros the Firelord is an incredibly powerful Elemental Lord and master of all fire elementals. He rules over his minions from deep inside the fiery core of Blackrock Mountain. There is a short but difficult questline available for those two handed mace wielders who wish to obtain a mortal-sized copy of his weapon, . Background The Firelord and his brethren once held sway over the entire world. As a servant of the Old Gods, he fought against the Titans for domination over the planet. The victorious Titans banished him and his brethren to the Elemental Plane — there to remain imprisoned until the end of time. It was then and there that the brothers turned on each other. For five millennia a battle was fought at the core of this world. It was during the Elemental Sundering that Ragnaros sought to consume Thunderaan, Prince of Air. Thunderaan fell, utterly defeated. The Firelord feasted upon the essence of Thunderaan, but was unable to consume him entirely. In the center of a vast lake of fire in the Elemental Plane stands Sulfuron Keep, the home of Ragnaros. Until comparatively recently, he ruled his underground land with a molten iron fist. Around three hundred years ago the ambitious and ruthless Dark Iron clan initiated a war against their dwarven brethren, the Bronzebeard clan and Wildhammer clan, thinking that they were about to unite against the Dark Irons. During this War of the Three Hammers, the Dark Iron dwarf leader named Thaurissan lay siege to the Wildhammers' capital city of Grim Batol and destroyed it. Due to this victory, the Wildhammers and Bronzebeards did decide to unite against the Dark Irons and were ultimately able to push them back to Blackrock Mountain, the Dark Iron Dwarven home. Thaurissan, seeking to summon a supernatural minion that would turn the tide of the war back to his favor, called upon the ancient powers sleeping beneath the world. To Thaurissan's surprise, and ultimately his doom, the creature that emerged was more terrible than any nightmare he could have imagined. Now, freed by Thaurissan's call, Ragnaros erupted into being once again. Ragnaros' apocalyptic rebirth into Azeroth shattered the Redridge Mountains and created a raging volcano at the center of the devastation. The volcano, known as Blackrock Mountain, was bordered by what is now known as the Searing Gorge, to the north, and the Burning Steppes, to the south. Though Thaurissan was killed by the forces he had unleashed, his surviving Dark Iron clan brethren were ultimately enslaved by Ragnaros and his elementals. Many Dark Iron dwarves remain within the lower areas of the mountain, especially Blackrock Depths, toiling away at the behest of Ragnaros and the Firelord's lieutenants. They worship Ragnaros, considering him not only a Elemental Lord but also an Old God, although he is only affiliated with the Old Gods. The Bronzebeards and Wildhammers, however, remain free. Witnessing the horrific devastation and the fires spreading across the southern mountains, the Bronzebeards' King Madoran and Wildhammers' King Khardros halted their armies and hastily turned back towards their kingdoms, unwilling to face the awesome wrath of Ragnaros. Now he lies at the bottom of that volcano on Azeroth, striving to find a way home, as well as to gather his strength once again so he can burn away Azeroth and take it for his own. Meanwhile, in Sulfuron Keep and elsewhere across the Firelands, his elemental princes battle constantly for dominance. He and his dwarven minions took control of the Blackrock mountain's volcanic depths and made war on the orcs in the Upper Blackrock Spire, which served as the seat of power for Nefarian the Black Dragon. Ragnaros has uncovered the secret to creating life from stone and plans to build an army of unstoppable golems to aid him in conquering the whole of Blackrock Mountain. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm After being defeated in Molten Core, Ragnaros has been banished back to the Elemental Plane. He will be featured in the next expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm where he'll be located at his home of Sulfuron Keep. He and his armies will be launching an all-out assault on Mount Hyjal, attempting to burn the now-regrowing World Tree. Midsummer Fire Festival In 2008, the new Midsummer Fire Festival kicked in leading to new festivities including a "rebirth" of player activities involving Ragnaros. During the Festival, there will be a number of references to Ragnaros the Fire Lord including a Summer Scorchling that, when given an incense, will grow in size until he "jokes" about becoming the Herald of the Fire Lord and showing new players a slight glimpse of Ragnaros himself. Elemental War Reborn! During the Midsummer Fire Festival, high level players will inevitably face the true threat facing the world. The Earthen Ring will send adventurers across the globe on a quest to save the world from an Elemental War. The Twilight's Hammer plans to summon the Frost Lord into the world so that he may face Ragnaros bringing an elemental war to the world once again. Players are then sent to Slave Pens to face Ahune and defeat him before he may gain full strength and begin his attack on the Fire Lord. Etymology/inspiration Ragnaros' name is derived from Ragnarök, the end of the world in Norse mythology, but he seems to be based on the leader of the Fire giants, Surt. This battle would be fought between the gods (the Æsir and the Vanir), and the jotuns (the giants): the hrímþursar (frost giants) and the eldjotnar (fire giants led by Surtr), together with Loki and his children. The word Ragnarök comes from the Norse mythology and means The End of The World. It is possible the Ragnaros's name was inspired from the latter meaning as well as by the fire giants. Trivia In an article on PC Gamer, Ragnaros was voted as #36 of the top 47 "most diabolical videogame villains of all time". The first Worldwide Ragnaros kill was by the Ascent guild on Medivh. Ascent has since guild-transferred to Thrall, and now has transferred to Detheroc under the new name, Gong Show. Also, it is the name of two PvP servers, Server:Ragnaros Europe, one of the oldest European realms, and the first Latin American realm, Server:Ragnaros Latin America, which at it's opening had many older, highly populated realms pointed to it for free transfers. Gallery Image:RagnarosS&L.jpg|Ragnaros from Shadows & Light. Videos References